Finding Love: Practical Dating Tips for Seniors

Dating is not limited to the younger age group only, and anyone, no matter their age, can find love. Your senior years can get lonely, especially after retirement when you don’t have a spouse. It might be confusing for seniors to reignite that side of their life, especially if they haven’t dated for a long time.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior already living in an independent senior living community or your home in the countryside. The chances for you to find love again are open if only you look. In this guide, we offer you practical tips on how to find love again in your senior years:

1.   Leave The Baggage Behind

There’s no rush in finding new love again. So, you have to work on yourself first and find happiness in being single before you get back into the dating field. Ensure that you’ve also dealt with past baggage or bitterness that you may have and that you’re emotionally stable and available.

Almost everyone has some form of baggage, but that relationship won’t last long if you get into a new relationship with it. It won’t be fair to cause someone else pain, so ensure that you have healed first. When you’re happy and fulfilled, you’ll pass that same energy to your person, and your new relationship is bound to work.

2.   Join An Activity Group

Besides finding love, it will be ideal to bond in other ways to spark up the relationship. Everyone is selective on what they love indulging in. Besides, being part of a social circle exposes you to a larger group of potential dating partners with similar interests. The groups could be birthed from religion, music, games, volunteer work, book reading, etc.

3.   Consider Online Dating

Dating was much different back in the day. You could only meet people in person and maybe talk to them over the phone. Your dating pool was limited to people in your immediate vicinity. 

There’s been significant growth in online dating platforms in the subsequent years. You can check out “senior only” dating sites and connect with whomever you want from anywhere in the world.

Some sites may require a subscription fee or ask you to fill out a questionnaire to connect you to someone. However, stay alert not to fall for online scams like someone asking for money or your bank information. If you ever plan for a meet-up, ensure that it’s in a public spot. That way, the chances of being unsafe are almost nil.

Alternatively, if you’re afraid of having your information displayed online or wasting too much time online, you can approach a matchmaking agency. They’ll ask for essential details about your life like; hobbies experiences, and using that information, they can then match you up with a compatible person at a small fee. However, always remember that these sites do not guarantee a perfect person.

4.   Keep An Open Mind

Like online dating, you should also understand that most senior people have had their own life experiences with relationships. You might come across people with permanent chronic conditions, divorcees, widows, or widowers.

Don’t limit your potential partner to looking or being a particular way. Despite their life experiences, you may still be compatible, so be open to giving them a chance to communicate without judging. However, if your first instinct about a person seems off, let it go as early as possible. You can easily read someone’s intentions at your age, so don’t ignore those red flags.

5.   Maintain Your Partner’s Independence

It can be exciting finding new love again and wanting to share everything. Remember that a break from one another is equally healthy for your relationship. As much as you may find a partner with whom you share the same interests, both parties must maintain independence and identity. Having different interests gives your relationship a break and improves your sense of self-worth. As long as you have built enough trust, each party shouldn’t deny the other the chance to participate in other activities or work on their dreams once they start dating.

6.   Practice Good Communication Skills

One of the top deal breakers in most relationships is communication. How you pass information or express your feelings to a person is very important. It evokes their response and behavior towards you. More so, learn how to practice respectful conflict resolution, actively appreciate their efforts, express your emotions, and give them undivided attention. Remember, you must always intentionally set time aside to talk and be clear about what you want in the beginning.

7.   Have Three Dates with Your Potential Partner

It’s impossible to know someone’s real character in a day, and one can’t pretend for too long. By the time you’re planning for a third date, you’ll have sufficient information to decide whether you’ll continue pushing for the relationship or not.

During the third date, you can discuss more intense matters about your deal-breakers like those involving your religious beliefs, where you would want to live, etc. Be yourself and communicate everything that you feel matters to you; then, later on, you can both decide if the relationship can carry on.

Finding genuine love is not easy, so expect some difficulties. So, never give up on finding love again and when you get into one, remember that you must put in the work to sustain it.

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